NEWARK, N.J. — The Broncos were up first on media day, arriving inside the Prudential Center promptly at 10:30 a.m. It must have been about 10:30.50 when the first silly question came from someone loosely disguised as a reporter.

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By KEVIN GLEASON

recordonline.com

By KEVIN GLEASON

Posted Jan. 29, 2014 at 2:00 AM

By KEVIN GLEASON
Posted Jan. 29, 2014 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

NEWARK, N.J. — The Broncos were up first on media day, arriving inside the Prudential Center promptly at 10:30 a.m. It must have been about 10:30.50 when the first silly question came from someone loosely disguised as a reporter.

But that is Super Bowl media day, a fun-filled event held on the Tuesday before the big game. The entire 53-man rosters congregate in a huge area where hundreds of serious-minded journalists meet not-so-serious folks with loose media connections.

And players get asked all kinds of oddball questions.

Seahawks center Max Unger naturally got a bunch of queries about his wildly grown beard. He said it was the result of forgetting to trim it in November. Alrighty then.

Unger was asked about his favorite stretch, and one word to describe head coach Pete Carroll — "compete'' — before the conversation turned back to the beard. A guy asked if he could touch Unger's beard and Unger obliged.

"Was that fun?'' Unger said after the guy ran his fingers through the beard.

Yes, the day officially had launched into the realm of creepy.

Unger was a magnet for the oddball set. A guy in a superhero costume handed Unger a binder. "You didn't get this from me,'' he said, as Unger accepted the binder reading, "Broncos Official Playbook." The superhero left and Unger smiled. "This is wild,'' he said.

Broncos receiver Eric Decker wasn't so much affected by offbeat questions as repetitive ones. That's the other thing about the day. So many people approaching players at different moments make it common for players to be asked the same question three or four times.

"Everyone talks about media day,'' Decker said. "But until you get to experience it. ... It's all hyped up. All of you guys running around asking the same questions. It's fun.''

Broncos defensive tackle Terrance Knighton was asked if he had gotten many ticket requests.

"Yeah, a lot,'' he said. "I didn't get a lot of tickets. My mom is my 'No' person, so when I hear people asking me for something, I tell them my mom is handling it. They don't even ask after that."

Asked if he could be a mixed-martial artist, Knighton, 6-foot-3 and 335 pounds, said, "With me, it would have to be about endurance.''

So how do you stop Seahawks back Marshawn Lynch? "You don't let him have any opportunities,'' Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio said. "You gotta limit how many times they can hand it to him.''

Del Rio was asked about facing his own offense, led by Peyton Manning, in practice. "He challenges us every day,'' Del Rio said. "We had competitive periods all